Friction-reducing device for sliding drawers, &amp;c.



C. BUYER.

FRICTION REDUCING DEVICE FOR SLIDING DRAWERS, 6m.

APPLICATION.FILED FEB. 15. I916.

1 ,1 84,343. Patented May 23, 1916.

1a .1. i B 9 11 mhi'neoow UNTTE STATES PATENT @FFTCEQ CLINTON GUYER, OF

MUNC'Y, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAM C. CRAWFORD, OF MUNCY, PENNSYLVANIA.

FRICTION REDUCING DEVICE FOR SLIDING DRAWERS, 8w.

Application filed February 15, 1916.

and useful Improvements in Friction-Re ducing Devices for Sliding Drawers, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to friction reducing devices for sliding drawers, shelves and the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple, efiicient and inexpensive device of the character referred to, adapted to eliminate friction or reduce to a minimum frictional contact between sliding drawers or other slidable parts and their casings or housings, adapting them to be easily moved by means of either one or both handles with a noiseless smoothly running movement and to facilitate the movement of the drawer or shelf when drawn out or shoved into proper position within the casing.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description. 1

In said drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional elevation of a part of a cabinet or case of drawers, or the like, equipped with my improvement, showing one of a series of drawers in proper position within the easing; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the same, the section being taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional elevation on an enlarged scale, of one of the ball bearing devices detached, showing the ball in full lines; the section being taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 4; is a plan view on an enlarged scale of one of said ball bearing devices.

Referring to said drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, the letter A may denote a sliding drawer of ordinary construction, in proper position within the casing or cabinet B, and provided with ordinary handles or knobs for drawing Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1916.

SerialNo. 78,457.

it out or shoving it into place. The cabinet B has formed 1n its bottom, at the front, and in the adjacent inner side wall thereof, or at each corner, near the front, one or more recesses or sockets b, which are preferably cyllndrical in form to adapt them to receive correspondingly-shaped cups C, in which are fitted balls D, which protrude slightly beyond the edges of the cup and are retained therein by indenting the edges of the cups, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Similar sockets or recesses are also provided in the underside of the bottom of the sliding drawer, at or near the rear end thereof, one or more at each side, and one or more in each of the adjacent outer walls thereof and in the adacent upper edges, as shown, so as to provide ball bearings at the front of the case or cabinet on the bottom and on the interior walls thereof and also at the rear end of the sllding drawer, underneath its bottom, and on top, at each side, and on each outer wall or side. The top of the ball-holding and retalning cup is preferably substantially flush with the surface of the part in which it is seated, while the ball projects only slightly beyond said surface, so as to provide a revoluble seat upon or against which the movable part may rest or abut and by means of which the drawer may be easily drawn out or shoved in with a free and smooth running movement and without friction; friction be ing practically entirely eliminated or reduced to a minimum. The cups 0 may be stamped out of sheet metal, but are preferably constructed of steel, by simply boring or drilling a socket of the desired size for the ball in the end of a steel rod and rounding out the bottom of the socket so as to form a seat for the ball. The ball is then inserted and seated in the socket, and by indenting the edges of the cup, as at c, by means of a suitable tool, in the manner indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the indented portion or portions will overlap the larger diameter of the ball and prevent it from dropping out when the cup is inverted or turned bottom side up.

As will be observed, the form of the ballholding cup is such that the ball is firmly seated therein on its rounded bottom and retained by indentations at one or more points in the upper edge of the cup, (preferably at diametrically opposite points), which do not materially affect the cylindrical form of the cup from top to bottom, so that it is adapted to fit snugly within and against the circular wall of a cylindrical socket its full length, thereby giving rigidity and strength to the structure and adding materially to its efficiency as a friction re ducing device of the character referred to.

It has heretofore been proposed to pro- Vide sliding drawers or the like with antifriction devices, or means for reducing friction, and I therefore make no broad claim to the application of anti-friction devices to such uses; but in prior constructions it is the common practice to use fastening devices of some sort which are liable to cause trouble and which are entirely eliminated by my improvement, in which no fastening means are required to secure the ball bearings in place within the casing or on the sliding drawer or shelf, as the cups are adapted to fit snugly in the correspondingly shaped sockets, with sufficient friction to prevent them from being accidentally displaced or dropping out, and there are no bolts or screws or other fastenings employed, which are liable to work loose or drop out and cause trouble.

My improved device eliminates the necessity for and dispenses entirely with extraneous retaining or securing means, such as retaining plates, screws, bolts, projections, or other fastenings, for securing either the balls or the ball holding and retaining cups in the desired position. In my device there is simply a ball holding and retaining cup and a cup holding and retaining socket, without any additional appliances, strips, plates, screws or projections of any kind, which increase the expense and render the device unsatisfactory in practical use, by reason of the fact that such extraneous appliances are liable to work loose and drop out or cause trouble and inconvenience of some kind, which is not possible with my improvement. My improvement also has the advantage of simplicity combined with strength and efliciency and inexpensiveness in manufacture.

Having thus described my invention,wh at 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. l friction reducing device including a novable and a stationary part, one of said parts having a cylindrical socket therein, and a ball holding and retaining cup of cylindrical form seated in said socket; the outer cylindrical wall of said cup being substantially of uniform diameter from top to bottom, to adapt it to closely fit the interior wall of said cylindrical socket its full depth, and having its mouth substantially flush with the socketed surface in which it is seated; said cup having a ball therein protruding slightly beyond its mouth in rolling contact with the other part and retained by indentations in the edge of the cup.

2. In a friction reducing device of the character described, a ball holding and retaining cup of cylindrical form, its exterior wall being substantially of uniform diameter from top to bottom, to adapt it to closely lit the interior wall of a cylindrical socket the full length of the cup, and its interior diameter being substantially uniform from its mouth to its bottom, and its bottom being rounded; said cup having a ball therein protruding slightly beyond its mouth and retained by indentations in the edge of the cup.

In testimony whereof I aflix mysignature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALLEN J. Goon, SIMON P. CLEnn.

Copies oi this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of :Patents, Washington, D. G. 

